This presentation (PowerPoint slides) accompanied the session on the Libraries After Dark initiative offered at public libraries in Victoria.

Session description: “More than one-fifth of Australians rarely or never feel they have someone to talk to or turn to for help, and more than one quarter feel lonely for at least three days every week", according to a comprehensive study of loneliness and wellbeing being undertaken by Swinburne University and the Australian Psychological Society.

In 2017 and 2018 a number of public libraries in Victoria investigated implementing Libraries After Dark initiatives. The library I was working at then was one of them. The original plan was to offer Libraries After Dark as an anti-gambling initiative but as our research grew the importance of the library in addressing social isolation could not be overlooked. Social isolation is also a key reason that many people gamble. So why not address both?